(ANNAPOLIS, MD)—Alison Prost, Maryland Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), issued a statement following a vote today by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee not to cut $10 million next year from the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund.

Governor O'Malley had proposed to spend a total of $67 million through the Trust Fund to help local governments and farmers reduce polluted runoff, a major problem in virtually every county in the state. But some legislators had expressed an interested in shaving $10 million from that proposed spending in order to address projected revenues shortfalls.

Ms. Prost's statement is as follows:

"We are grateful to Chairman Kasemeyer, Subcommittee Chairman DeGrange, and the entire Senate budget committee for their wisdom and fortitude. The Chesapeake clean-up is a top priority that can't be shortchanged.

"Cutting this funding would have sent the wrong message to citizens who this year are paying more out of their own pockets to support cleaner water in Maryland. Thankfully, the committee members realized state government has to continue to do its part to restore a vital resource."

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